WITCHER VS WITCHER | WHICH IS BEST?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- Which edition of the Witcher books by Andrzej Sapkowski do you think is best?
Art IG page: / ebnovelsart
My Book: www.elliotbroo...
My Instagram: / ebnovels
Peace and Turmoil Instagram: / the_dark_shores
Twitter: / ebnovels
Website: www.elliotbroo...
My Patreon: www.patreon.co...
Here's the link to the charity Save the Children. Feel free to share this link with others!
support.savethe...
2040 S Alma School Rd. Ste 1
Box 515
Chandler, AZ
85286
USA
#witcher #witcherbooks #witchereditions
I think I actually prefer Witcher more.
Nah Witcher is better.
You idiots Witcher is the best.
Lol 😂
Everybody gangsta till the Witcher starts reading you
Thank you for saying that "Wild Hunt" was what got you into "The Witcher" as a new fan coming fresh off the show going into the games and books it makes me feel better.
Oh sure! I love the game. I’ve been that annoying bookworm that’s constantly like, “that’s not how the books did it!” while watching the show, but I do still respect and enjoy the different mediums 😊 the game might be my favorite still 😮
@@ebnovels I get that. I was a bookseller for BN for so I feel a little late to the party. BTW I would have been thrilled to have you as a fellow bookseller.
Spanish covers tend to depict a scene from the book on the cover. You should check out the Spanish covers for a song of ice and fire, brandon sanderson and LOTR.
Will do-thanks for the suggestion 😄
The short stories are the best for me. The saga needs to grow on you.
I've always found it crazy that Sapkowski did not include a map in the original editions. Like he didnt even DRAW a map for himself. Other writers in the genre like Tolkien and Martin describe the process of map drawing as fundamental to their own creative juices and ability to keep the narrative consistent in their heads. Sapkowski said to hell with that, and wrote everything without any reference outside of his own head! Point being, I've always wanted an edition with the maps, CDPR created some awesome ones (even though I understand why the new covers are a bit much).
Sapkowski is specifically saying, I think, that the books are more about the characters than the world, so that's why he didn't have a map
But still, his in-head point of reference it's perfect - I believe there's, for example, a river that changes its location
Yeah, Sapkowski takes a different approach - he develops the world only as much as it is needed for the story to be continued.
I’m new to Witcher - just listened to the first book and a half, but you can sort of tell it isn’t written with mapped out geography in mind. He pretty much just rocks up from one place to the next, without specific routes really being important. It might change when the epic story starts, but at least with the short stories in the first couple of books it seems like that.
Sapkowski, Tolkien and Martin are three completly different beasts, just because they wrote fantasy books they don't have to be in any way comparable. Tolkien was primarily concerned with building a believable world and writing epic (but very archetypical) Stories for it. Martin's primary drive was writing believable characters without a classical Protagonist who where almost exclusively members of powerful noble families where they could interact like in a telenovela with the exception that they died left right and center. In order to do this he had to develop a complete world with a deep history because that would influence how the characters would act in certain situations. The result is an epic series where tragedy and triumph feels truly earned and believable, however that struggles to provide a meaningful narrative with beginning, climax and end. Sapkowski, on the other hand, does not have epic narratives like Lord of the Rings where you need to develope a huge Land with different cultures and races nor does he has all his Character as aristocrats of different noble houses, the stories are very local and the world is basically just assumed to be folklore Poland (or central/eastern europe).
The Witcher world doesn't exist. It was conjured by the author as much as he needed and where he needed. Books are pretty much character-driven.
I know that this video is 2 years old but I would like to add that the new German covers from "dtv" are very amazing. I mean the metal/silver-Stil covers. They just look so clean and I like them
I'd be willing to bet the American covers ended up being a marketing choice to capitalize on the popularity of the games to help sell the books to people who only played the games. The English release for Time of Contempt was five years after Blood of Elves and after the second game was out for a couple years.
A friend lost my first edition Blood of elves and I was so sad when they gave me back the new one, but now that I look at them all together they are actually really beautiful, and convey the vibe of the stories pretty well.
The Spanish ones are way to 'heroic' witcher is more a Modern fairly tale to me.
I'd go for Spanish, they are gorgeous and I like the epic fantasy feel they have. Though I like the spines of both the ones with Sapkowski's signature and the red American ones that stand out on a shelf. While I get the complaints about the video game art and it not matching, I still think they are gorgeous art, and especially like the Lady of the Lake cover, which I am 2/3rds of the way through reading now, with both Gerault and Ciri on the cover. I feel that one fits symbolically for their bond/reunion. Plus I just love that design for Ciri so much, to the point I want to cosplay it.
Polish 2 are absolutely gorgeous OMG 😍
I’m getting the Spanish edition (I’m going through the second book right now) and I really love these covers.
Ah, I’m so jealous!!! I bet they’ll look even cooler in person 😄
The new editions from Brasil are quite beautiful. All black with a minimalistic/stained glass dragon with a diffrent color each book, and hardcover! Just bought from amazon my copies :) Great video!!
Baptism of fire is my favourite book in the series undoubtedly. I just love the characters and how they interact with each other so much.
Im reading that rn!! Regis is a chad
The Regis rant debunking vampire myths is probably at least top 5 moments from the books
@@julianxamo7835 All of regis's rants are god tier.
@@lvn2410 That's literally the exact sentence I use to describe Regis to my friends who like the witcher lmao.
The covers with game graphics are just so lazy.
I think You missed the best edition - very old polish one with white covers, which as far as I know, one can only get a secondhand version of. But its very hard to find. I have only 1 book from that edition
You can find them in old libraries in old libraries in Poland sometimes. I would love to see the one you own.
Yeah, I’ve seen those, they’re awesome :)
The one that have Bonhart in one of them??... Ive got them all :)
Man, I used to have those since I grew up on the series, but had to sell them in high school since I needed the cash.
@@SinnerBeta aw that's a bit sad
I see Witcher, instant like :D
same haha
Give me your number bro
@@dominantpersona3326 dude what
@@dominantpersona3326 yeah, you're beyond a elaborated comment
@@dominantpersona3326 if you wish, but maybe you should go enjoy some other series / things you actually like
Fantastic overviev., thank you very much for this.💙
The Finnish is very minimalistic, with only a picture of the wolf medallion on the cover.
That seems dope
Thanks for showing the different covers! Looks like I have some hunting to do!👍🏼
Haha, right? I’m so jealous of some of those editions 😆
The new German editions have awesome spines :) The covers themselves look nice but aren't that special, but I like them more than the old ones
Just getting into this series so I'm very glad for this video
The irony of the complaints about the game art on the book covers is without the games hardly anyone outside of Poland would even know the books exist.
People who read the books would know. They were translated all over Europe before the first game was released.
I like the black polish ones and the spanish covers. They are so Excellent 👌👌👌
I know! I can’t pick between them 😆
I love the Polish and Spanish ones. They give an idea of the story with awesome art. I personally own the UK ones which I like a lot too because they show you that the Witcher series isn't just about Geralt and they are very consistent as a collection. The US ones are the absolute worst, I think they use the same Witcher 2 art here in France.
Seriously wish they went with the Polish/Spanish art work world wide.. I hadn't seen either of them before and they are superb and put the UK covers into the shade.
Visually my favourites are polish black covers but they are really fragile. The material they're made of tears very easily and if you rub a book against something the colour in that place just fades and it leaves something like white stains on the cover.
(Sorry for grammar mistakes that could've appeard in my comment. My english still isn't perfect).
I love the art of the UK covers but the hardbacks of the Polish version are amazing
I just started getting into this whole Witcher franchise and I really enjoyed your video didn't know there were so many different versions of these books cool. Gonna read the books as I play the games then check out the show
I really really like the fourth set you illustrated, with vague scenes from the book that evoke mood but nothing too specific. The last ones are also pretty great! My favorite are definitely the old 2st edition polish covers with the white backgrounds since I'm a sucker for older fantasy art, and the one with Bonhart carrying the severed heads is EPIC. As much as I love the games I agree that the covers with the games are pretty lame for me, I'd rather separate the two and have direct callouts to the books. They aren't all about geralt after all
The second Polish ones look extremely good, for me they are by far the best and most fitting to the books
I like them as well most. Also Spanish cover for Blood of Elves is really good.
Love your collection in the background.
Check out czech covers, they are best i think. Simple, there is just amulet, but on each one there is different amulet corresponding with things happening in the book. :)
I'm pretty sure that all Polish editions of all Sapkowski's books were published by Supernova, they seem to have some sort of exclusive deal for the Polish market with him. I don't think I've ever seen a Sapkowski book published by anyone else.
You should also check out the Hussite Trilogy, it has some pretty badass artwork - and the books themselves are also awesome, although I don't know if they were ever translated into English. It's historical fantasy taking place in XVth century Silesia and Czechia (as the name suggests, during the Hussite wars).
Once again love that your doing these videos!! The polish and Spanish ones are so stunning!!
I really like the first edition of the polish covers but the newer dark ones are also beautiful :)
I really love the Denis Gordeev's illustrations of The Witcher
Watched this hoping for a comparison on the actual translation of the original stories...
Same :/
Well it's difficult for her to make comparisions without knowing polish nor spanish
@@butterchicken9912 are there different english translations though? Im trying to figure out if there is a different translation between the american and uk version and if there is a prefferable one....
Yeah this is completely useless
Wow, the spanish covers looks so good, thanks for the vid ;)
I'm trying to decide which english version of the series I'll buy, though I can't decide. Is there even a difference between them except for the cover?
I like that on the UK version each book comes with the character that goes through the most character development or has impact on the story, but doesn't spoil anything (often you don't even know who it is until you read the book, in fact I'm still confused about whether the man on Tower of the Swallow is Vysogota or Regis). But the second Polish version is definitely the best looking.
I think I personally prefer the polish or spanish ones. Though for the english ones I actually prefer the US editions. Just not a fan of the pictures on the UK editions. Definitely will rebuy the series if they ever release one of the other covers though.
I like the White Polish edition the most. I am currently reading the American Editions of The Last Wish. You got me...and I'm reading it right now.
Gosh, I wish the Polish 1 covers are in english too!
I voted for spanish because they are Epic! But I do actually love the US video game ones even if they don't relate to the books so well, they are just stunning and look great on my shelf. They make me want to pick them up and read them.
I live in the US, but I bought the UK versions because I liked their covers better. Took longer for them to be delivered but I feel like it was worth it
That light witcher 3 gwent soundtrack in the back 🤤🤤🤤
It’s such a good soundtrack 😄
These UK editions are the ones I have and I am really happy with them. :D
I personally dig those game covers.
the edition of the polish set that has the name and sapkowski's signature on the spine is also inspired from the games, you can check out the earliest witcher 3 artwork from 2013 to confirm this
Yea i have to agree that the spanish version looks awesome but obviously first i needed to be able to read them so i have only two choices either the us version or the uk. i bought the uk version complete set. it was also very cheap like 10 pounds per book
The wiedzmin on the spine along with the signature is so nice, how do i order those
I got them from a Polish website called Gandalf :)
Elliot Brooks thanks!
I'm from Poland and unfortunatelly this white edition with signature is out of print. You may try to get it used but price for it increased recently. I saw sellers wanted 2-3 times more then original price.
Personally I've got black edition with signature but it is not as good looking: www.supernowa.pl/ksiazki.php?p=145
There is a hard cover illustrated version of The Last Wish coming out this december, and I have already preordered it. I don't have any of the physical books (just ebooks and audiobooks) because I HATE books that say "now of Netflix"
So cool, I got interested in the Witcher after watching the Henry cavil seasons of the Netflix series, want to read the books now 😊
I thought this was going to be about differences in translations, lolz. I'm starting the Last Wish on audio book and it's difficult not hearing the voice from the game or show. I didn't really play the games, but I know the voice. Peter Kenny is great, but it's off putting so far.
It's a tough choice between the Polish black and Spanish editions but I would definitely say I like the former's version of The Tower of Swallows the most out of all of them.
If we are talking cover art, than the polish, overseas editions win hands down. As far as dialogue, i gotta say english simply cuz i can't read the other languages (for now) lol. Interesting video topic nonetheless elliot. Happy Witcher Wednesday to you all 🐺💫
So... Super Nova needs to help out our US covers!!! They do a fabulous job!
Hi from Japan!
Someone might have already told you but the Witcher Japanese version has a quite great cover art!
It's only for paperback but you can tell the intense atmosphere from different characters. I actually haven't read them in Japanese yet, now I'm enjoying the Last Wish (Hardcover, US I guess) and trying to find the next one, the Sword of destiny/hardcover. Or I just have to wait until it comes and then I'll choose some other paperbacks just for now.
FUN FACT: Am currently reading the Witcher series in French, and in France we don't read it in order of publication date BUT in chronological order! The one I'm reading at the moment is The Blood of Elves, so it's the third one! :) I wonder if publishers from other countries have done that too lol?
Ngl I love the US game covers. I prefer paperback as well and the texture they use for them are perfect for me
I have the full set of UK version. I like them. I dont really care how the artwork looks on the cover, but damn... if im not enjoying these books. Great world. Full of action, politics and some good comedy.
Finally! :D
Polish "black" edition definitely has the best covers! unfortunately they are extremely fragile paperbacks... I haven't seen Spanish books before - I think they are really great!
PS Does anyone know if there's Witcher translated to Icelandic? ;)
Wow, the Spanish are amazing. I agree with you. Spanish or black Polish. I have the black Polish once.
If I could, I'd get that gorgeous Polish white hardback set 😍
I've the red US set, as here in NZ I can only find the US or UK covers (which I don't like.) The red covers look good on my Witcher shelf of nerdy-goodies, too 😊
I enjoyed the graphic novels, too. The Witcher 3 is my favourite game🙌
Does anyone know where to get these books without that ugly "Netflix original series" circle that appears on all the covers now? I bought the set shown around 3 mins from Amazon but they sent me the wrong covers.
The US Artwork is absolutely gorgeous, but I kinda like the UK ones. Mainly because I just got the full box set shipped from the UK.
New age thought says to have your sale products in red. Because, like you said, it stands out. You'll have better chance of sales
I have much older edition, first Polish edition from 80s. I like those best
honestly, I like our (Slovak) more. It is simple but so good. there is a sword on all of them and they are all black but with a colour on the bottom (for example, the third has red bc of blood etc) no hate but I think Spanish is a little bit too much (its beautiful ofc but not my favourite) if you guys are interested, check them out - they are in hardcover and it's printed right on them just like the white edition.
The books are magical like the games, explicit recommendation:)
I think I prefer the red ones with art from W2 to the ones that looks like photos of people. Just feels more fantasyish. I have seen The Last Wish where it was red with the witcher medallion on the front though and I think I like that most. Definitely not a fan of the ones that have W3 character art on it just because its so clearly from a video game. At least the ones with concept art arent completely obvious its from a video game.
hey I'm Polish but I own uk version of Last wish. First try to adaptations of books was in around 2000 and it was horrible. Second time I meet with the franchise again was in 2018 and it was Witcher 3. I was certainly blown away
As Polish the first edition I ever had and read (14 years ago) was white one, original I think. Now I own the black ones and I was thinking nothing will be better then dose but for F*** sake Spanish are the best in my opinion, so beautiful :D
In live in US. I see badass cover, I buy. Then I put on shelf for display. Friends come over, they see book with awesome Witcher cover, they think I'm awesome too. That's how it works.
I would get mad if Spanish version didn't have good artwork in the covers. They have a long history of cool and epic fantasy art, like Luis Royo or Arantza Sestayo. Btw, just found your channel and I was wondering if you also cover Swashbuckler Adventure bucks? Like Alatriste.
Fun fact. The Greek editions use the UK covers but for some unfathomable reason in Sword of Destiny they use the cover of Time of Contempt. It's not bad neccesarily because Yennefer does feature a lot in the book, but it is baffling that they would make such a needless change
They didthe same for croatian covers. They used the UK ones but made the binding and the colors alot better in terms of quality which is what i love avout them, but they switched Time Of Contempt and Sword Of destiny covers, and thex also used Lady Of The Lake cover for some other book in the series. Bassicly only The Last Wish wasnt switched which is a decision i dont ubderstand
The Spanish is the best . Wow
The artwork from the games is amazing but what bothers me is that it doesn't match what happens in the books. If I were to buy the whole saga I'd search for better covers. And that comes from someone that has put over 800 hours in the games, love the art but the mismatch is a no from me.
I think the new spanish covers are the best, the UK versions were used in the spanish versions too before the new covers. Also there's an illustrated edition coming in spanish.
The polish covers from 7:00 are some of my favorites too, the art is amazing.
Definitely agree with you when it comes to the video-game artwork on the covers of those editions. I don't like video game or film artwork on literary covers in general, it feels very gimmicky. And they certainly have zero to do with the actual contents of the novels in these cases.
there is Netflix version out there too and it's actually really cool
OK, you helped me make my mind. I'm going to get the Spanish edition.
I really don't like jackets on books. Really not.
I'm from the Netherlands where it's almost always printed on the cover themselves and when I first began reading in English I remember sending the books back sometimes after ordering to buy the paperbacks since printed on a soft cover is still better than printed on a jacket with boring black behind it. I wish reviews would show what's under the jacket more often. I'm always a bit hesitant to buy hardcovers before knowing what's under the jacket.
Im plan on getting covers from the original polish version for the new us book. Since i really didnt like the covers not making sense with narrative and im a very visual person
In the last few days my UK Kindle edition of the first book just switched its cover from the UK version shown in this video to one with Netflix images.
I’m totally in agreement. I was nearly set to buy the series here in Ireland which are the same as the U.K. version though the covers are the worst out of them all, then my parents called me up from the states and said they had already bought me the full series in the US as a birthday gift so I wasn’t complaining. Yes the concept art is stunning and straight out of the games but they literally have nothing to do with what is happening in the books.
I would love someone to release an English translation with the 2nd Polish edition from the video as that is my favourite or I should just learn to read in Polish but that might take a while. Heck while I’m at it I might try and customise my own covers, can’t be that hard, might do a book cover like I had to do in school to protect my books 😂
I do however wish that Dandelions name was kept as Jaskier in the English translation, love him as a character and I’m not against his name being Dandelion but Jaskier was so much better.
At least the UK versions should keep Dandelion’s name consistent. In the first book it is spelt Dandilion, with an “i” in the middle, and in the second book it is spelt Dandelion, with an “e”. I am listening to the audiobooks, and this leads to completely different pronunciations of his name between the first and second book.
I would like to get the Spanish. Anyone know where to buy them?
I would've chosen the us ones (I actually bought them) but man I love it when the art is a depiction of a scene or something if it's not it'll just bug me
you should check the Kaer Morhen edition released by Bragelonne in France. Hands down the best one that exists
Hopefully with the show out, and The Witcher become a more popular franchise here in the US now, we'll get some nice looking hardbacks in English... Those Polish hardbacks are beautiful, we need them in English.
I don't really like the kind of covers that the UK editions have, but for some reason I find them stunning. That being said, the spanish ones are probably my favourites. Just beautiful!
Aren’t they awesome? I remember when I saw them, I was instantly super jealous 😆
I am so jealous you have the white Polish edition. Ugh. Can't find them!
I got them from a Polish website called Gandalf :)
@@ebnovels I magic'd my way over there so fast, but no luck. I will just refresh all the pages every day until it appears. Thanks for the reply!! :)
The Brazilian cover its like a mix between the us cover and the polish one, its not the best one, and not the worst. In Brazil we also have an older edition that are a straight copy of the UK cover
Thanks for all the great content !! Check out the newest french covers, they look amazing imo ! Here is book 1 : www.amazon.fr/Sorceleur-T1-Dernier-Andrzej-Sapkowski/dp/B07J33SHL6
There's another Polish set with author's signature from over 10 years ago. I have that one: gameplay.pl/galeria/ilustracja/68_153135211.jpg
Is it true that the U.S. ones with red spines are all different height if I buy them separately and not in a box set?
Black Polish version is awesome!
Personally i really like the german covers of the books. They are just really simplistic
www.beyondpixels.at/previously-on-the-witcher/
I like minimalism, which is why the Bulgarian covers appeal to me. Check them out. There are some older versions, which are kinda meh, because they are literally just the symbol. The newer ones tho seem great.
The white polish and red us ones are my favorite
My favourite is the very first polish edition (you can see it in this article: gameplay.pl/news.asp?ID=88724 ). Part of this is nostalgia, obviously but also all the covers but the last and illustrations in the first two short story books were done by well known (in Poland at least) artist and comic book creator Boguslaw Polch.
Those spanish covers are GLORIOUS. Holy moly. I’m jealous.